


Nightfall

by LovedByFew



Category: Hunger Games - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-07 10:21:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21456466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovedByFew/pseuds/LovedByFew
Summary: Nox Elzon was altered by the Capitol, then cast out with most of her family, failed experiments. Her family is dead and she's in prison in District 8. Forced to work in the cotton fields by day, Nox has spent the last 6 years in solitary confinement at night. She's given up on all humanity, but when her name is drawn for the 73rd Hunger Games things get a little hairy. The large Victor of the 72nd Games from District 2 is one of the first to meet her, intrigued by her mystery. She seems like a fragile little girl in the light, but what happens when the lights go out?
Relationships: Cato (Hunger Games)/Original Female Character(s), Cato/Female OC
Kudos: 5





	1. 1

The bars on the door clank as it slides open. I leap down from my bunk, makeshift shiv in hand. It was that time of year again. Those of us in the delinquent detention center of District 8 are about to be escorted to the Reaping. A pair of large Peacekeepers enter my cell, a second set wait outside, they learned from last time. They brought back up. I widen my stance, solidifying my position. I hold my shank at the ready. Before I can make a move, however, one of the guards shoots me with a sonic blast, stunning my body, but not my consciousness. The two in the cell pick me up by my wrists and ankles, after kicking away my poorly made blade. They haul me past many cells, most of them already having been vacated. District 8 is one of the only ones allowed to keep criminals, using the prisons as forced labor camps. With all of the Districts depending on 8 for fabrics, gathering the raw materials is an around-the-clock job. That is what we are used for. We don't get paid, we're hardly fed, we barely sleep, but we keep going. As my head lolls back, my eyes fall on the tattoo that covers my left forearm. The crest of my family followed by the mark of my crimes, framed by a set of twisting snakes, one of red and one of blue. I'm here for thievery, arson, and assault of a peacekeeper. My parents died when I was young, without an orphanage, I stole to stay alive. I started fires a lot. First it was to stay warm, then it was just because it made me happy. I was chased around the District, no one wanted to deal with a thief. At the age of 12, I was hiding in an abandoned textile factory, munching on a stolen meal, when someone found me. A trio of Peacekeepers had heard there was a thief in town. They followed me there. I didn't know what else to do, so I lit the place up. I got out; I knew the place well. They weren't so lucky. A week later, I got in a fight with another orphan over a scrap of food. A Peacekeeper tore us apart, I attacked him. He had the food we were fighting over; I was hungry. It seemed logical at the time. I shoved him a trash can, took the food, and set him aflame. A week after that, the same Peacekeeper caught up with me, arrested me, and ensured that I got stuck here. When we arrive at the showers, they throw me onto the wet tile floor, sliding across it until I thump against the wall. I lay in the frigid water until my nerves and body are under my control again. I spring up from the white floor, strip out of my already soaked clothes, and proceed to try and clean myself. I know that the Peacekeepers are watching, but I don't really care. They would have done this to me in a moment anyway. I leave the icy shower behind, wrapping and a thin, already wet towel. I am escorted to the dressing hall, where the entire prison is gathered. I'm shoved in the direction of Noculo, the female dresser. 

"Nox Elzon!" She barks. 

Her voice is sharp, like a needle, but deep like the creaking of a tree as it falls. 

"What's it to you?!" I snap back at her. 

"Step up." She orders. 

The Peacekeepers shove me forward, almost making me trip over a ridge in the floor. I cast a glare back at them but turn to Noculo. She eyes my body up and down, judging how to dress me. At the prison, we are given the failed experiments of many designers, so nothing ever fits quite right. She throws a wad of forest green cloth at me, before jutting out her thumb and pointing it over her shoulder. I move on to Zer, the shoe man. I'm given a set of tan sandals, then move on. I dry myself off as best I can, then pull on the dress and shoes. Someone hands me a set of panties, that I pull on without a second thought. After dressing, we are lined up against the gray cinder block wall. As we are marched through the prison center we are shackled together, ensuring none of us will wander off. After an hour of marching we reach the Town square. We move through the line, each of us getting our fingers pricked to confirm our identities. People become less and less comfortable as our chains clanking along the ground. 30 of us are girls and half as many are boys, we line up in front of the crowd, the more eyes on us the better. They keep us there to keep watch over us, and to show the District that there is no escape, not for real. As I find my place in line, the ill-fitting dress slumps off of one of my shoulders. 

"Hey now, look at that sweet piece of ass." 

"I haven't seen her around." 

"Why hasn't she been at school? 

"Who are they?" The other children ask. 

The adults look away, preferring not to explain. I scoff quietly, damn cowards. We stand rigid in front of the masses, staring at the tall dark screen. Before long, the escort for District 8 walks onto the stage. He's a medium height, slightly bulky man at the far end of the middle-aged spectrum. His hair is starting to grey and recede. His dark eyes scan the crowd happily, as if our District's suffering brings him pleasure.

"Hello, District 8!" Kiro shouts in the microphone. 

He is met with silent glares. No one likes the Games here. I roll my eyes as he coughs awkwardly. 

"It's that time again, time for the 73rd annual Hunger Games! But before we get down to business, we have a message for you, all the way from the Capitol!" He claps, backing off to the side of the stage. 

We turn our attention to the large screen in the center of the platform. The video depicts District 13 and what happened there because of the rebellion. It shows the smoking ruins of buildings and grey skeletons scattered around the ground, covered in ash. A frown cements itself on my features as Kiro returns. 

"Wow! What a blessing it is to be under the Capitol's protection." He grins hugely. "And now, the moment we've all been waiting for, this year's tribute drawing." 

He does an odd little wiggle of excitement. He reaches a claw-like hand into the glass bowl of boy’s names. He draws out a slip of paper dramatically, unfurling it slowly.

"Tecal Rayneer!" He shouts. 

A young man stumbles out of the pool of 14-year-old boys. He's medium height, and chunky. His skin is fair, his hair is a dusty brown color, and his eyes are wide and afraid. He trips up the stairs twice before reaching Kiro's side. 

"Congratulations Tecal! Now for the ladies." 

He bounces genially, as if you were drawing names for a cute and friendly competition. He digs his hand around and the bowl female names. He fishes for a while before grabbing a slip and retrieving it. He smirks a little at the paper, reading it a few times before announcing the name. 

"Our own little thief, Nox Elzon." He grins. 

The other prisoners turn to stare at me silently. 

"Well shit." I growl loudly, not knowing what else to say.

A set of Peacekeepers release me from the chains and lead me up to the stage. Kiro seems pleased, I wonder why. Does he know something? Most people in the Capitol know about my family, but I'm the last one. I leer at my new escort as he continues to gush about the Games, and the honor of being chosen as a tribute. I stand with my arms crossed, not even trying to listen. Soon we are forced into the District's Capitol building, to say our last goodbyes. No one comes to visit me. Not that I thought anyone would. I get the time to think. We don't have many victors here to be mentors. Only Cecilia from the 52nd and Woof from the 38th. Not great options. One of them tripped, causing their attacker to fall into the mouth of a hungry mutt, and the other just lasted in the cold longer than anyone else. Awesome! I'm gonna die. I also wonder why more criminals aren't chosen. Anytime people in District need more food, they put our names into the bowls extra times, giving themselves the rations. Then there's Kiro's smirk, what was that about? My family was known for being the Capitol scientist's lab rats. The majority of us died as mutts. I guess I'll die one as well. I remember living in the Capital before coming to 8. It was beautiful, opulent, and over the top. That's all I remember besides the lab. The Capitol was always trying to engineer new things. They made me into a freak. I was a failed experiment, in their eyes. I read about these things in a book once, sirens. It's the closest thing I can find to what those people turned me into. I sing, and people give in to their deepest desires, no matter what they are. I've seen some pretty strange things because of my stupid power. Will that be useful to me in the Games? What if someone's deepest desire is to win? I'd be toast! My skills lie in agility, not strength. I'm fairly wimpy, sneaky, but wimpy. If I'm to survive, I need to change that. What is the Arena going to be like? I hope it'll be something I can work with. Why did it have to be me? This is my last year. 

"Damn it all!" A shout, throwing a pillow across the room. 

It smashes into a mirror as the door is flung open by a set of Peacekeepers. They lock my hands in cuffs in front of me, then haul me across the plaza by my shoulders, dragging me backwards. They shove me on the train behind Tecal. As the door to the train starts to close, the Peacekeepers give me one last shove, sending me slamming into the wall on the other side of the hallway. I hear footsteps both stop and approach as I fling myself at the now-closed train door. Another set of Peacekeepers catch me as I bounce off of it, but by now I'm screaming obscenities at the ones who threw me. Each of the Peacekeepers grabs me by the shoulder, towing me backwards. But I'm not done. A stamp on one of their feet, making him let go. I'll plow the other one in the gut with my elbow, then make my escape. I catch a glimpse of a large, muscular, blonde man standing in the opposite doorway, just staring. His blue eyes are wide, but he doesn't look afraid. I sprint down the hall to find an access panel to the roof of the train. I find a ladder, climbing it is a little more difficult when my hands are cuffed together. I make it to the roof, pulling myself up and out of the train. I hear the Peacekeepers come sprinting down the hall. I slam the little door on them, smirking. I make my way to the back of the train, maybe I can just live in the woods out here. I bet I could survive. I make it to the back of the train, watching the track fly by. We're going really fast. I decide to take a seat on the edge and wait for the train to slow down. Quite suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Someone is here. I leap up, expecting to find Peacekeepers. I'm both right and wrong. There are three peacekeepers, but there is also the blonde man from earlier. He stands in front of them with his hand stretched out towards me, palms flat and facing me. He's approaching me as if I were a frightened animal. I imagine that I rather look like one.

"What are you doing up here?" He shouts over the wind, paying very close attention to my slow movements. 

I creep forward a little, before deciding to ignore him. I turn back around and sit on the edge of the train car again. Before I know it, the man is sitting next to me. 

"Come inside, I don't want them to shoot you, but they will if they think they have to." His deep voice hums. 

"Why would you care?" I ask, holding up my cuffed hands. "You don't know me, but I'm a criminal. Why would you help me?" I hiss. 

He leans in to whisper in my ear, "I wouldn't." 

He starts to laugh loudly. He grabs the chain that tethers the handcuffs together, dragging me along behind him with my arms over my head. My rear end slides along the hot metal as he reaches the Peacekeepers but continues walking. 

"We'll take her from here Cato." The one on the left offers, making to take my wrist. 

"Nah, I got her." He smirks, continuing on towards the nearest hatch. 

Cato? Winner of last year's Games Cato? I stop fighting long enough to twist around to look at him. Sure enough, it is him, Cato Hadley. He won the 72nd Hunger Games with seven kills. On the last one he pulled the arms off of the guy from District 6. I start to struggle harder, what is he going to do to me? My wriggling slows him down a little but doesn't affect him otherwise. He jumps down the hatch, dragging me along with him. I start to shriek as I fall in, but he catches me. He then sets me on my feet forcing my knees up to my chin and pulls my restrained hands behind my back. He squeezes my wrists together until my shoulders feel like they're going to pop from their sockets. He shoves me forward, through an automatic door, toward the front of the train. 

"So, you're a criminal, what are you in for?" He asks. 

"Theft, arson, and assault. Plus, a little extra." I growl, glaring ahead of me. 

"Arson? You just set things on fire?" He asks. 

"No, not things. People." I cackle. "They had me in solitary confinement for 6 years for setting a pair of prisoners and a trio of Peacekeepers on fire. They screamed. Oh, how I miss the screams." I groan. 

If I can make him think I'm nuts, maybe he'll warn his tributes to stay away from me. It seems to be working, he doesn't say anything to me until we reach my part of the train.

"Hands off her Cato, go deal with your own tributes." Kiro chides. 

"I'm just returning your little delinquent." He pushes me away from him. 

"Dude, I'm only a year younger than you! Who the hell are you calling little?" I yell at him. 

"Has nothing to do with age sweetheart. You're small, and in four months’ time, you'll be dead. Until then, have fun… what's your name?" 

"Nox. Nox Elzon." I cackle. 

His eyes widen again, everyone from District 2 knows who we are, or were. He scans my open flesh and finds what he's searching for, judging by his rapidly souring expression. My tattoo of an orange fox resting with a blue harpy with a red handprint behind them both. Our crest spoke of an old ambition, loyalty, wisdom, and ferocity. He can see why now. We were loyal to the government, allowed them to experiment on us. We were ambitious for favor, power, and influence. We grew both wise and fierce because of the realization that neither our ambition nor loyalty were returned, they never were. 

"Be seeing ya 2." I laugh darkly, turning my back on him. 

I go and sit in one of the booths facing the front of the train, away from Cato. I hear hushed talking; it sounds like a bunch of threats to me. I hear the door close, and Kiro sits across from me. 

"What were you thinking?! You could have died!" He shouts at me. 

"Oh no, death." I roll my eyes sarcastically. "That's why I'm here dickhead!" I shriek back at him. 

Up close, I can see just how old Kiro actually is. There are well-defined crow's feet at the edges of his eyes, frown lines decorate his lips, and jowls are just beginning to form. How many tributes has he brought to the Capitol? 

"Don't you start with me missy, lest you forget, you're depending on me for help in the Arena. I'm the one who gets you sponsors while you're in there." He smiles in a superior manner. 

"Oh, so if I'm sassy he shakes his jowls at me. The horror!" I respond sassily. 

I rise, walking through the door and finding my way up the train to my room. Inside I find none other than Cato sitting on the bed, with a small silver key in his hand. 

"Really? Didn't get enough of me up there, so you have to come in here? Or do you just get your kicks by teasing women while they can't even fight back?" I bite. 

He smirks, rising from the bed, and stalks over to me. He doesn't say anything, but stands toe-to-toe with me, dangling a key from a thin silver chain. He's taller than me by a good seven or eight inches, and I have no doubt he could crush my skull with his bare hands. 

"You want this?" He asks, his intelligent eyes flicking to the key for a fraction of a second. 

"Yes." I grumble. 

"Come and get it." He responds. 

"Give me a second to find a ladder, and we can hash it out face to face." I snap. 

His face becomes less amused for a moment, before he bursts out laughing. I scowl at him deeply, but he shows no sign of calming down. I step back through my hands, holding the handcuffs in front of me. While he's doubled over and clutching a stitch from laughing, I snatch the key from his hands. In seconds, the cuffs are on the floor. He sobers up and straightens himself. His grin is huge, and quite honestly breathtaking, but I can't let my guard down. 

"You're one of them. A mutt. What can you do?" He asks in all seriousness. 

"That's not how this works sweetheart. You have nothing I need. Quid pro quo and all that." I smile, making my way around him. 

I stand by the window and watch as the landscape whooshes by. 

"I'll remember that. Be seeing ya Nox." He chuckles slowly, giving me an odd kind of salute. 

He touches his thumb and forefinger together, placing them at his forehead. It looks like he's tipping an invisible hat to me. I just stare as he lets himself out of my room. 

"Keep an eye on me? Ha! Keep an eye on this!" I yell, flicking off the door. 

I sit on the bed until a knock comes at the door. 

"What?" I growl irritably. 

The door opens, and Tecal ambles in. 

"Kiro told me to let you know that dinner is ready." He mumbles quietly. 

I watch as he fidgets with his fingers, as if he were nervous. 

"What's gotten into you? You're acting like I'll hurt you if you anger me." I laugh, rising from my place. 

Of course, I would actually. We walk down to our dining car, where I see such a bounty of food, I can't believe my eyes. I watch the line of Kiro, Tecal, Cecilia, Woof, and two other people load their plates. I just stand and stare as a few of them go back for seconds. I've never seen so much food in one place before. I approach the long tables of food. I've never even seen someone eat so much, or some of these dishes before. It seems like no one has noticed me yet. I put as much on my plate as I think I can handle. I bring the plate back to a table, away from the others. A dark-haired woman stands up from the table of people and walks over to join me. I hunch over my food, as if I were guarding a chunk of a prey animal. 

"Kick down kiddo, I'm not going to take any of that away from you, I value my hands." She laughs. 

Her voice is low, making me think of the humming of bees. I don't calm down, shoving my food in my mouth before anyone has the chance to remove it from my presence. As an inmate, it was difficult to keep a hand on food, so when someone else came along during a meal, well… we all kinda turned into feral cats over it. 

"You can speak I assume." She smirks at me. 

I don't say anything, she doesn't need to know. 

"That's alright, you don't need to speak. I'm your stylist, Quartz. I needed to meet you to make your clothes properly." She grins. 

Why are her teeth maroon? And why are there precious gems embedded in them? 

"What the hell is wrong with your teeth?" I ask before shoving more food down my gullet. 

She laughs gently, "So she does speak." Her smirk feels knowing, like she just gained a huge insight. "You were in the prison, how long were you there?" She asks. 

"I spent six years in solitary. I got what few scraps the others wouldn't eat." I growl, eyeing the long food table again. 

"Kiro doesn't like you." She frowns at me. 

"So?" 

"He's the one who talks to sponsors on your behalf while you're in the arena. Doesn't that worry you?" She asks. 

"No." I shrug. 

"Oh, so you're banking on your prison time being enough, aren't you?" She scowls. 

"And if I am?" 

"Then it was nice knowing you. I'll say something pretty at your funeral." She smiles again. "You need someone in your corner." 

"You seem to be vying for the job." 

"I just want you to realize the nuance of the Games. Without sponsors, you'll receive no help in there." Quartz frowns. 

"I need help? Darn, I was hoping my sheer charm would get me through." I whine sarcastically. 

"Well, hope on then." She shakes her head slowly and leaves me. 

She seems nice enough, but I don't trust her. After all, why should I?

I retire to my room not long after Quartz leaves me. Time to see what I'm up against. I sit on the end of my bed and pop in the tape of the Reaping. District One has a pair of sixteen-year-olds as their set of tributes. No surprise, they're both well-built, the male is black, and the female is very white. Before I can get any further in the video, a knock comes at my door. I don't get a chance to answer before Quartz, Tecal, and Kiro enter my room. 

"Yes, welcome to my humble abode. Please make yourself comfortable. It's not like you're here against my will or anything." I snap. 

"Play nice Nox, there'll be plenty of time for hostility later." Quartz laughs lowly. 

I scowl at her as she sits on my right side. 

"Can we start the tape over?" Tecal asks timidly as he sits on the floor. 

"No. This is District One. There's no need." I hiss. 

"Okay. D1, male's name is Quota, he's 6ft 2in and 200 lbs. The chick's name is Shine, she is also 16, 6 ft even and 170 lb." Quartz reads off a sheet of paper. 

I glance the paper out of the corner of my eye, seeing her handwriting. She has terrible penmanship! How can she read that, it's all scribbles. Tecal cracks his knuckles nervously as he sits, staring at the two tributes. I watch the two on the screen wave to the crowd happily. They don't seem worried at all. Although, they are a career District, why should they worry? 

"Wow, what a great start to this year's tribute lineup!" Caesar Flickerman banters with his co-host. 

"Too true Caesar, I can't wait to see who the other districts have to offer." A little man in a bright blonde wig giggles next to Flickerman. 

The video continues to District 2, showing us a surprise. A 13-year-old boy volunteers as tribute, why would he do that? The rest of 2 doesn't seem to care, as long as there is a volunteer, they don't care whose blood is spilled. I feel a sneer grace my lips as the camera pans to see the female tribute. The goddess standing next to him is tall, well-built, and deadly looking. She has deeply set blue eyes with heavy lids, and a pointed, proud face. She has a strong chin; this combination worries me. 

"D2, male is called Vox, he's 4 ft 9, how cute, and weighs 100 lbs. D2's smallest tribute on record. The girl's name is Hera, fits her face, don't you think?" 

"Her stats?" Tecal gulps loudly. 

"5 foot 11, 190 lbs. of pure muscle." Quartz frowns. 

If I actually plan to get out of the Arena, she'll be an issue. Depending on her weapon though, I think I can handle her. I hope. Television hosts gush over little Vox and his huge partner, Hera. I wonder if they know each other. 

"Next is three. D3, Nikal is the guy, and Arissa is the girl. He's five foot, 330 lbs., and 13 years old. She is 14, 4 foot 8, and 159 lbs. That poor little thing is going to get eaten alive." Quartz hisses. 

Caesar and the other one gossip to each other, laughing about the poor Reaping from District Three. The tributes from Four come on screen and my heart stops. The male poses no threat, but the female… well fuck. She's an Amazon goddess! Tall, tan, well-built, short dark hair and eyes, she looks like she's flawless on the outside. If I weren't straight as an arrow, I would get with her in a heartbeat. As the camera zooms in on her face, I see something sinister burning behind her eyes. I wonder what she has planned. 

"District Four, Nova and Tanner. He is 4 foot 10, 190 lbs., and 12 years old. Poor little thing. His beast of a partner is 5 foot 10, 17 years old, and weighs in at 170 lbs. My sources tell me that she's a psychopath outside the Games, so be careful with her." Quartz instructs. 

For once, she has a point. 

"I think miss Nova will be the Capitol's favorite this year." Caesar bounces.

"I know exactly what you mean. There's just something about her that commands respect. She's got my sponsorship." The blonde man laughs with Caesar. 

They seem to be just loving Nova. I watch as her stern face fades from the screen, turning to District Five. Neither of them looks like much of an issue, though the guy is really tall. 

"Five, he's Zach, tops out at 6 foot 7 and 200 pounds. He's also 15 years old. He has the potential to be a threat, but I don't think he has it in him. The chick is Heather, she is 4 foot 5 and only 70 lb. She's 12 and has virtually no chance at all." Quartz frowns again. 

There's a lot of young tribute to this year. Why? Were we all picked so Nova could have an easy Games? Think again, Nox is here. I smile darkly to myself. I may not live through it, but I'll give them one hell of a show. 

"District Six has Kyle at 6 foot 5 and 200 lbs., and Amy. She's 5 foot even 120 lb. Both of them are 17." 

Caesar and his counterpart seemed disappointed in Six, almost as much as Three. What will they think of us? 

"Seven has Nadine at 4 for 11 and 100 lb. And then Fen at 4 foot 11 and 90 lb. Fen is 13, and Nadine is 17, poor thing, this was her last year." 

District 7 is toast. The television hosts are almost crying with laughter at the poor luck of the lumber District. Usually, they are the favorite of the lower districts, not this year. It's our turn. 

"And now for District 8. So, this year had an interesting Reap, one of the tributes is a normal boy, Tecal, but the girl is a little different. Her name is Nox Elzon, and she is a prisoner of District Eight, used for fabric production. I don't know what she was in for, or how long she was there. I would keep an eye on her, I bet she'll be a wildcard through and through." Caesar laughs. 

"Too true Caesar, my sources have told me that she is one of the Elzons that had a stay here in the Capitol. And, I hear that she's been in solitary confinement for the last 6 years. I've got no idea what she's going to do, or what to expect from her." The blonde host agrees. 

The screen changes, showing us the tributes from District Nine. 

"Bia, she's five foot seven and 130 lbs., she looks to be in pretty good shape, considering which district she's from. Her partner, Mart, is 4 foot 10 and 75 lb. She is 16, and he is 12. So many small folk in this round." Quartz muses. 

Caesar and his counterpart continue with their playful banter. District Ten comes on, and before I can stop myself, I start getting jealous. Damn! She's gorgeous. I gasp at the television. 

"That's Hathor, she lives up to her namesake. She's 5 foot 9, 155 lbs. Keep an eye on her during training, if she's good, maybe form an alliance with her." Quartz advises. "Trite is her partner. He's 5 foot 11 and 165 lb. My people tell me that he's proficient with rope and whips. He's the cattle rancher." 

"I see." 

"Hathor is 15, and Trite is 14." Quartz continues. 

District Eleven is next, the male catches my eye this time. He has a devilishly pointed face, bright red hair, and sharp eyes. 

"Sil, the guy, is 6 foot even at 185 lbs. He's 17, stronger than he looks, and smarter too. I grew up in 11, he used to bully my brothers." Quartz frowns. "Quinn is the little girl, she's 5 foot 5, 145 lbs. She's 12 years old. She's proficient with a sickle in the grain fields." She warns. 

I nod once, communicating that I understand. Finally, Twelve comes on the screen. 

"His name is Zelan, he's 6-foot 5, 140 lbs, and 17 years old. His partner is Victoria, she's 5 foot 2, 90 lbs., and 15 years old." Quartz gives her final analysis. 

"Tecal." I hiss. 

He glances up at me from the floor, his face turning greener by the second. 

"They didn't say anything about you. Fly under the radar and you might survive." I frown. 

"You think so?" 

"Yeah, but don't expect me to take a blade for you. If it comes down to you and me, I'm going all out. Don't expect anything less." I growl. "Stay Quartz. Everyone else out!" I order. As they reach the door, I smirk, "By the way, thanks for all the info, you're really doing your job splendidly Kiro." I growl as he is halfway out the door. 

He starts to grumble beneath his breath as he slams the door behind him. I feel a chuckle escape my body after he's gone. 

"You really shouldn't tease him so much." Quartz scolds me. 

"Yes mom." I roll my eyes. 

"Bitch, I'm 22." She complains. 

"Whatever. Why did you collect all that info for us?" I ask. 

"I'm a stylist, I want my tribute to come home." She shrugs.

"Kiro seems content to let us die." I point out. 

"No, just you." This time, she grins. 

"Go figure, I'm not exactly the best bet in the arena this year. Keep my outfits muted. The less I show, the better it'll be for me and Tecal. If we can sneak by, the Careers will be more focused on others." I plot. 

"Okay. You'll look real good for your interview, but I'll keep you on the down low." Quartz nods, rising from the corner of the mattress. 

"Keep an eye on Kiro for me. Something tells me he and I are going to have some fun this year." I instruct her. 

"Sure, keep an eye on Nova, from 4. Mark my words, she's your competition." Quartz smiles faintly. "Hey, what's your mutation?" She asks. 

"Nope." I shake my head, "No one gets to know that, or even if I have one. If I did, it would be my secret weapon." I shake my head, escorting her to the door. 

I nearly shove her out, wanting to be alone. Six years in solitary and now there are so many people. They make my head hurt.


	2. 2

I wake up later, how much later I don't know. It's still dark outside. Why are we stopped? I get up, looking for something I could use for a weapon. There's nothing in here. Drat. I slide my door open slightly, trying to figure out what's going on. This isn't normal, I assume. I make my way to the front of the train to the conductor's quarters. 

"Hey, what's going on?" I whisper through the door. 

There's no answer, so I walk in. On the floor, lies the conductor. His hands are splayed out above his head, as if he were reaching for something before getting knocked out. I walk around him, open the drawer of his nightstand, and pull out a little dagger. 

"I can work with this." I whisper to myself in the dark. 

I hear voices coming from down the hall, but they don't sound like they're getting along. I sneak down the hall, not daring to make a noise, or put the knife down. As I get closer, I see two masked men hauling a wriggling, but bound, Cato out of one of the doors of the train. They throw him on the ground outside the train, then start to come back towards me. I hide in the first open room I come across. As soon as I close the door, it opens again. One of the thieves enters, telling one of the others to continue on. I flattened myself against the wall, waiting for my moment. He walks into the room and over to the bed. I see Hathor, sleeping soundly. The man reaches out to touch her, checking her pulse, but why? I don't wait to get an answer, I creep up behind him, cover his mouth, and stab his heart through the side of his rib cage. He makes a quiet whining noise but nothing else. 

"Don't try to steal from the thief." I smirk at the corpse. 

I guess murder isn't too far from where I started. I already lit people on fire. I drag the body, leaning it against the wall before I leave. I make my way to the open door, where I see a squirming Cato, an unconscious Shine, Nova, Quartz, Sil, and Vox. I leap down onto the gravel below, and crunch quietly over to the blonde Victor, starting to cut his bonds. 

"You okay?" I ask. 

"Yeah." He shakes his head to clear it. "How many are there?" He asks groggily. 

"I don't know. Have you been drugged?" I ask, pulling back from him. 

"Maybe a little." He rotates his shoulders, loosening up. 

We hear voices start to approach the open door. Without thinking, I grab his hand and pull him under the train with me. Before he can ask me what I'm doing, we hear heavy boot steps above us. Somebody comes flying over us, landing on the ground with the other unconscious people, Kiro. 

"Hey, where's Cato?" One of them asks. 

"He's gone?" A female answers him. 

I hear the crunch of two sets of boots because they jump down. They pace back and forth in front of us. 

"The boss specifically wanted him! What are we going to do?" The man hisses. 

"He was tied up; he can't have got-" 

"Look!" The smaller one kneels on the stony ground, picking up the broken ropes. 

"Okay, now we've got a problem." The woman growls. 

They stand, side-by-side, in the darkness, looking for some sign of where he went. 

"I've got him, you occupy her until I'm done." Cato instructs. 

I open my mouth to use a stubborn remark, but he's already out there. 

"Looking for someone? Maybe I can help." Cato frowns. 

As they turn around, Cato slugs the large one of them in the face. From the grunting noise, it's the female. Good. As the second of them jumps on Cato's back, I come out from under the train. 

"Looks like you could use a hand." I laugh, dancing the knife across the man's back. 

He releases Cato, a great growl escaping his gritted teeth. 

"Oh, don't be shy, let it all out." I tease him. 

The masked man comes after me now, leaving Cato with one target. The man doesn't seem to have a weapon, but that doesn't mean that he isn't dangerous. I hear Cato shout a little, it sounds like a chick is kicking his ass. 

"Come on Cato," I start to dodge one of my opponent’s fists, "don't tell me that you're out of practice." I cackle, taking a stab at the man. 

"Killing people is generally frowned upon outside of the Arena." He responds. 

"Well aren't you just perspicuous." I scoff, of course murder is frowned upon. 

The Games are just Capital sanctioned murder. Well, it's too late for me anyway. I burned that Peacekeeper, and killed one of the thieves, so what's stopping me now? 

"Nothing." I growl to myself. 

As the man goes to punch my stomach, I use the dagger. I grab his wrist pulling it out of the way, hold the blade in my teeth, and grab his other wrist with my free hand. I cut across his throat, spilling his blood all over me. The man coughs once, pushing one last spurt of blood from his body before going limp. I drop the body on the gravel, then turn to see Cato snap the woman's neck. The sickening crack makes me stop and realize what I just did. I took two people's lives in 10 minutes. What kind of messed up monster am I? Cato seems to notice. 

"Prison never prepared you for taking the life of another human, did it?" He asks. 

I dimly see his broad chest rising and falling from the battle. 

"No. I've been a killer for a long time, in my heart at least. Lighting people on fire takes away their lives, even if you don't kill them." I frown. "And that was three thieves, how many more could there be?" 

"No clue, but I suspect they're from the train kitchen. How else would anyone be drugged?" Cato frowns, walking over to me. 

He has a point. 

"Let's clear the train, the sooner the bandits are dead, the sooner we can keep going." I haul myself up onto the train. 

"Wait." Cato whispers. 

I stop and turn around. 

"You want to go to the Games?" He asks. 

"Yeah. If I win, I'll be released from prison, my record expunged. If I lose, well, I'll be dead. Either way prison life is behind me." I hold out my hand to him. 

He stares at it for a minute before taking it. I help him up, and we start down the hall, moving toward the back of the train. We move silently, checking each of the rooms. No one else is awake, I guess those are some pretty strong drugs. We start at the very end of the train, sealing off every segment we clear. The closer we get to the front, the worse I feel about the situation. When we reach district 7 segment of the train, we hear a thump in one of the rooms. We glance at each other before hiding. As soon as we are out of sight, a pair of men comes out of the male tributes room. One of them is carrying the boy, Fen, and the other was carrying his partner, Nadine. We wait for them to pass us, making sure to go unnoticed. Before I can stop him, Cato reaches out and snaps the neck of the one carrying Nadine. They both clatter to the floor with a dull thumping noise. 

"You okay Kined?" The masked man asks. "Kined?", no answer. 

Cato grabs Nadine by the arms, dragging her back. The man turns to see me lunging at him. I stab him through the stomach, then cut his guts open sideways. As he goes down, I catch Fen, making sure he doesn't hit the ground. I pull him back into his room leaving him to unceremoniously lie on the bed. As I return to the hall Cato emerges from Nadine's room. 

"That makes four." He frowns. 

"Five, I killed another one earlier." I correct him. "Thieves rarely work in odd numbers, aside from one, bet on at least one more roaming around here." I warn. 

He just nods. As we start to come out of the doors, someone fires shots. We press our bodies against the door frames, avoiding the bullets. 

"Looks like we found our guy." Cato hisses. 

"Yeah." I groan.

What do we do? I look between Cato and the dagger in my hand. 

"Can you throw?" I ask over the gunfire. 

"No! I have no aim." He shakes his head. 

I peer out trying to see where the gunman is. I catch sight of the movement three doorways up. The bullets start to fly again as I pull my head back. 

"How fast do you think you can cover the distance?" I shout. 

"What distance?" 

"About 20 yards." I brace myself. 

"Maybe four seconds." He guesses. 

"All right Mr. athletic man, when he's out, I'm throwing, he'll have to duck, giving you four seconds, make them count." I growl. 

He nods stiffly in my direction, face turning pale in the moonlight. I close my eyes for a second, focusing on calming my erratic heartbeat. The bullets soon stop, signaling my time. I come out of my doorway, whipping the knife down the hall. I hear the man curse, drop the gun, and fall to the floor. Cato springs into action, sprinting down the hall. He plows into the shooter, knocking him on his back. Cato takes the man's head in his hands smashing it against the floor until a great crack runs up the back of his skull, blood oozing over the carpet. He rises to his feet, chest heaving. I can see the look in his eyes, almost like disappointment. 

"You hoped you would never have to kill again, didn't you?" I ask quietly as I approach him. 

He just nods. This must be hard for him. 

"Let's get everyone else on board, drop these dead folk by the roadside, and be on our merry way." I lay a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

I feel him twitch slightly at my touch, but grabs the man on the floor, slinging the body over his shoulders. I follow him to the open door between the District Four and Five train cars. The two we killed out here are still there. Cato tosses the dead body in the bushes while I lift a couple of the unconscious people back into the train. I drape Vox over my left shoulder and slip Shine's arm around my neck. I start down the hall when I feel Shine's deadweight lessen. I look up to see that Cato has taken the other side. 

"You like this one?" I ask, motioning to Shine. 

"Me? No, you just look like you could use a little help." He smiles softly.

"Me? But you had me oh so convinced that you didn't care." I laugh. 

"I don't, but I do owe you. And so will the others, when they know that you saved them." Cato smirks. 

We stop off in District 2 to drop off Vox. I lay the small boy in his bed, then close the door as I exit. I pick up Shine's side again, we bring her to her room in District 1, leaving her to sleep the drugs off. Cato and I head back up the hall, grabbing the bodies of the two who were trying to take the District Seven set. As we leap down from the train again, we see the sun start to rise in the east. We put the bodies with the others, before loading up the rest of our people on the train. 

"Don't close the door, there's one and a Hathor's room." I warn as I take Nova's feet. 

Cato takes her arms as we make our way towards her bedroom. We stand and stare at Nova as she scowls in her sleep. 

"I would actually appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone who didn't have to know. I don't want people thinking I'm a threat or knowing what I can do. Not even your own tributes please." I plead quietly. 

He stares at me now. 

"You don't want them to know that you are the only reason they're alive?" He asks. 

"No, it would paint a target on my back, and Tecal's." I frown. 

"You like him?" Cato asks. 

"Not really. But it would be unfair if he was killed only because he's my district partner." I look up at Cato, hoping he'll understand. 

"Very well. That is how I shall repay you, my silence." He frowns slightly. 

"Thank you." I nod, pulling him out of Nova's room. 

We fix the rest of the situation in silence, placing everyone in their beds. By the time we finish, the sun is almost above the tree line. 

"There's going to be hell to pay for our late arrival." Cato hums. 

"Then we best be on our way." I frown, dropping the last bandit out of the open compartment door. We make our way to the front of the train and rouse the conductor. We explain to him what happened, I return his knife, and he sprints out of the room again. 

"Hopefully we can reason with Snow, maybe save this guy's life." Cato sighs, yawning right after. 

"Get some sleep, you'll need it." I smile, leaving him behind me.

I sit on my bed until we come to a halt at the gates of the Capitol. I decide to shower and change, covered in blood isn't a good sign for a criminal tribute. It'll be a while before we're really stopping anyway. As the lukewarm water washes the bandit’s blood from my body, I think about my little adventure with Cato. Who were those people? What were they going to do with the people they tied up to take? Why did they drug us? Why did their boss want Cato specifically? Why am I not exhausted? I was dealing with Cato all night, people tire me out, so why am I not drooling on the floor in a freaking coma? I slip on a purple dress and a set of black gladiator sandals. I don't realize that they have heels until Kiro comes barging into my room. He smirks upon seeing you struggle to walk. 

"At least I'm hot. You look like shit Kiro." I laugh, pushing past him. 

I hear him growl in the back of his throat as I line up with Tecal. Before Kiro can say anything, Cecilia is at my side, and Woof is on Tecal's. Tecal and I stand next to each other, waiting to be presented to the Capitol. The doors open, we file out by district, but we are soon rocketed to our prep station. My team consists of three men. One is short and blonde with green eyes and a splash of freckles on a small, upturned nose. The second is just as short, but brown-haired and broad-shouldered. He looks like he could lift a truck without effort. His eyes are dark brown, almost black, and his skin is a golden tan. The third is tall, far taller than me. His hair is black, and his eyes are icy blue, his velvety dark skin in extreme contrast with his eyes and white teeth. I see Quartz make her way over to us, a large glass in her hand. 

"This is Tee, Cantor, and Lye. They'll be with you until the end of your stay here." Quartz introduces them respectively, rubbing her temples. "They have to get you ready for the public and all of your events before the Games." She explains. 

"Got it. Sorry you guys got stuck with the con. Makes things more exciting though, don't you think?" I laugh. 

I hear footsteps approaching from behind me, and judging by the loss of everyone's smiles, it isn't someone good. I turn to see a set of heavily armed Peacekeepers. 

"This doesn't look like a social call." I frown. 

The one on the left nudges me with the barrel of a weapon, pushing me away from the group. 

"I guess I'll see you guys later." I call over my shoulder. 

The Peacekeepers usher me across the room, all of the other tributes stare as I am shoved through a doorway. I tumble to the ground as my left foot hooks behind my right. 

"Well, good to know you're so graceful." A deep, condescending voice growls at me. 

I stop glaring at the Peacekeepers to find the owner of the rude comment. My eyes land on none other than President Snow. 

"Yeah, got a lot of dance practice in when I was in solitary." I frown, picking myself up from the ground. 

I see the train conductor and Cato are also in the room. 

"I'll keep this brief so your team can get to work on you, believe me, they need the time." 

"Gee, thanks." I hiss. 

"I want to express my thanks and ask you what happened." He folds his hands neatly, yet sinisterly in front of him. 

"Someone drugged the food; I woke up finding the train stopped. I went to the conductor's cabin, finding him knocked unconscious, I took the dagger in his drawer. I returned down the train, killed one of the thieves, rescued Cato, who was awake and struggling at the time, then helped him rid the train of bandits. That's it." I frown. 

"I see." Snow muses. 

We stand in silence for a minute, until Snow nods to the Peacekeepers. They take the conductor by the shoulders, leading him down a dark hallway. 

"Remember Nox, casualness leads to casualties." Snow nods at me, making a shooing motion to Cato and me. 

We both bow to him in some way, taking the opportunity to exit. 

"He's going to die, isn't he?" I ask Cato. 

He just nods. His usually tan face and pink lips are deathly pale. He's really scared of Snow, isn't he? That's strange to me, Cato could obviously kill Snow, given the chance. Why would he be so afraid? He leaves my side when we reach my prep team. He's not acting like the man I met on the roof of the train. Why would he walk me to my team, is he making sure I'm safe? What the hell?! My thoughts are interrupted by someone unzipping my dress. 

"Hey!" I yelp, slugging whoever it was. 

Cantor backs away, holding his bloody nose. 

"We gotta get you ready doll, the rest of Panem is waiting. Our time is already half gone because of the late train arrival." Lye laughs, moving Cantor out of the way. 

I nod, submitting to their agenda. I am brought to a large tub of pink water, and I'm instructed to keep my head out of the liquid. When I get in, I feel a tingling sensation cover my body. I watch as the chemical eats away the hair on my arms, legs, and… everywhere. No wonder they don't want me to put my head in here. While I sit in the tub, Tee washes my hair with something he calls "brightener". He says that it brings out the natural pigment of my hair. I listened as the three men gossip about the goings-on in the Capitol. I don't really care to know whose wife was caught with whom, or who spent their entire savings on plastic surgery. Only when a familiar name crops up do I really listen. 

"I heard Cato Hadley spent all his winnings on booze." Lye laughs loudly. 

"I heard it was gambling. He's always at the track downtown." Tee smirks as he rinses out my flaming red hair. 

"I actually heard that he doted on his little siblings." Cantor scowls. 

The other two start laughing hysterically. 

"That is so not his style! The more vice involved; the more likely Cato Hadley will be there." Tee scoffs, wrapping my hair in a towel, "Come on love." He sighs, helping me from the tub. 

They wrap me in a paper robe and lead me to a hair and nail station. Each of my nails is painted a different color, where are they going with this? Tee rips a comb through my hair, taming my flaming waves while blow-drying it. So, Cato is a vise kind of guy huh? I'm not really surprised. The Games do strange stuff to folk. If I survive, I wonder what it'll do to me. What would a career convict do with money, power, and freedom? Probably kill anyone who ever slighted me. Or maybe drink a lot. Or maybe see how much tail I could score. Or maybe donate to charity. Probably not that last one. An unhealthy mixture of the first three most likely. 

"What are you smiling about? Does someone have a little crush on Mr. Hadley?" Lye teases. 

"Huh?" I ask. 

"Your face went all dreamy when we were talking about him." He points out. 

"Oh, I was thinking about what I would do if I won." I shake my head. 

"Hey! Quit moving, you'll make me mess up your makeup." Cantor shrieks at me. 

"Sorry." I whimper, sitting still as a statue. 

Only now do I notice my face in the mirror. A patchwork of different colors and black stitches cross my features. I'm a patchwork doll! Now I get it! That's a pretty clever way to show your skill as a stylist while keeping your tributes under the radar. When the boys finish with me, they bring me to what looks like an examination room. I sit on a cold metal table, waiting for something. Before long, Quartz shows up with a garment bag. 

"What did Snow want?" She asks, pulling a colorful dress from the bag. 

"He wanted to ensure that I behaved on the train." I lie smoothly. 

"No, he didn't," she frowns, "the conductor's dead, isn't he?" 

"As a doornail." I avoid her eye contact as I pull off the robe. 

"Not everyone likes Snow. Just so you know. If you don't, you have friends." She smiles lightly. 

"Noted, but it'll take more than one common belief to be considered my friend." I scowl. 

"I get that." Quartz nods stiffly. 

"Don't tell anyone, but I do have a power." I admit to her. 

There, a secret for a secret. Damn twisted sense of honor. You never know who you can trust when it comes to Snow. She zips up the dress before helping me into my heels. 

"I hate heels." I growl quietly. 

"Better get used to them. Games of 38 had everyone in heels in the arena, they make good ice picks." She warns. 

"So, it's a cold arena." I smirk, it's good to get information sometimes. 

"I don't know. I don't even get to see your uniform until that morning." She shakes her head. 

Damn, oh well. 

"No one knows what the arena will be like, outside the Gamemakers." Quartz frowns. 

"Oh well, one can hope." I shrug. 

She makes me give a clumsy twirl, then calls the boys in. They set to work, slapping massive amounts of makeup on my legs, matching the style of my face. This costume really is genius. The Capitol already sees the tributes as playthings rather than people. She sends her message subtly, but clearly for those who look for it. I'm escorted to the District 8 chariot where Tecal is waiting. He's dressed as a highbrow designer, he's my creator? This message is getting more and more pointed. The Capitol, Tecal, is having play time with his favorite doll, me. As I stand on the rolling platform, I catch Quartz by the collar of her shirt. She looks up at me from the concrete floor. 

"Maybe I will need that friend." I smile a little, my nerves are getting to me. 

"Then you got one." She smiles back. 

I nod as the huge door's open, revealing us to the people of the Capitol. 

"I'll be waiting for you when you get back." Quartz promises. 

I feel my heart flutter behind my ribs. Friend? I don't remember ever having one of those before. The chariot lurches forward, forcing me to catch my balance. As Tecal and I are pulled into the bright runway, the screams of the crowd become deafening. I can't distinguish one person from another, but this large, blurry crowd is colorful. I squint in the light, visibly flinching. The crowd screams and cheers as the carriages make it to the end of the catwalk. We stand on the chariot platform, waiting for President Snow to speak. His cold, calculating gaze rests on me for a fraction of a second longer than the other tributes. His foul eyes seem to pry into my mind. I don't bother changing my expression for him, I imagine I look terrified as is. 

"Welcome honored tributes to the Capitol of Panem. While you're here, you'll be training for this year's Hunger Games. In 4 months, these will be your opponents." He sweeps his arm in a broad gesture across the panel of tributes, "Train with purpose, and remember, carelessness leads to casualties." His smile is bitter. "Our hearts go out to you, train well, and above all… may the odds be ever in your favor." Snow's eyes rest on Nova now. 

She must be his pick to win, not that I blame him. She would be my pick as well. She's strong looking, and something tells me she's smart. Not a good combination to have as an opponent. I wobble a little as the chariot lurches towards the barn. The crowd continues to cheer as we return to the large open space. Tecal catches me by the waist, making sure I don't fall. Before I can stop myself, I rip his arm out of its socket, pulling it behind his back, and shove him to the ground. He lets out a piercing whine that snaps me back into reality. I guess my time in prison has affected me more than I thought. I shake my head, release him, and back up as far as I can. I bump into the side of the chariot, causing the wheels to shudder against the pavement. The horses start to run, the noise must have spooked them. I hold onto the side of the chariot as the horses continue to speed off. The handlers come running out onto the runway, trying to wrangle the frightened beast. Our chariot is quickly approaching the wall, and it looks alarmingly solid. I grab Tecal by his undamaged arm and leap out of the back of the speeding chariot. We tumble to the ground, landing in a bruised pile on the concrete just before the chariot smashes side first into the wall. We detach from each other before rising. 

"You okay?' I ask. 

He just whimpers, backing away from me. 

"Last time someone laid their hands on me it was in the prison showers with a pair of male inmates. The guards just stood and watched. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground, covered in blood and sperm." I frown. 

I hear my voice echo around the now silent catwalk. I look up to see my face on all of the screens lining the stands. I frown deeply, now the Capitol knows just what those prisons are like. I bet that the president has been trying to guard them from that information for a long time. I turn back to Tecal, opting to ignore the hundreds of cameras. 

"I'm sorry that I hurt you. I haven't actually dealt with people in 6 years. I promise not to do it again." I hold out a hand to him. 

He stares at it for a while before taking the hand. As I pull him up from the ground, the crowd of the Capitol residents goes wild with cheers. I roll my eyes discreetly, not wanting to acknowledge the people. Tecal and I walk back to the barn together walking close by each other’s side. When we make it behind the large metal doors, I lead him to a wall. 

I brace him properly, then frowning deeper, "This is going to hurt." 

"Just do it." He sighs. 

I nod once before shoving his arm back in its socket. He groans loudly, holding your shoulder. 

"Sorry about that." I mumble, then make my way to the elevator.


	3. 3

The door slides closed behind me, but I quickly realize that I'm not alone in here. 

"So, you don't want a target on your back, huh? Not for you or your District partner. Well, that blew up in your face." Someone growls behind me. 

I look in the reflection of the silver doors, only to see Cato standing there. 

"What are you talkin' about?" I snap, without turning back to look at him. 

"Both of my tributes are going to be watching you very closely now, and not because I told them to. You just showed everyone how fast you can move. Any of the real players in this game will be after you first now. And as for your partner, psh, he's toast. You made him look weak, slow, and easy. If you wanted to fly under the radar, you picked the wrong play, honey." He watches me. “Think on that, Nox." The door dings, allowing Cato to step out on the second floor. 

As the doors slide closed again, he looks over his shoulder at me, I from expression on his face. I stare at my reflection in the metallic doors, I really do look like a patchwork doll. How poetic. I am nothing more than a plaything in the Capitol's hands. I reach out slowly, touching my reflected face. That really is me… This is so strange. I'm out of prison, only to be captive again, forced to fight other children for our lives. I pull my hand back as the door slides open, revealing the 8th floor of the training building. The floors are light-colored hardwood, most of the living room furniture has many hard angles. The couches are grey suede with vibrant green cushions. There is bar seating of the same neon color by the black granite counter of the kitchen. Light cabinetry matches the floorboards, and doors that line a long hallway. I step out of the elevator and onto the landing. I feel so out of place here. To think that I used to live in the Capitol when I was little. I walk along the hall to a door marked with a golden removable plaque. "Nox" is printed on the slat in thick black letters. This one must be mine. I try to push the door open, but it won't budge. I look around for a reason, finding a green pad next to the door. I stare at it for a while, deciding what to do about it. It's a small panel, not large enough for even a chicken egg. I settle on putting my thumb against the dark green panel. A light beeping sound meets my ears, and the door pops open. I push it gently, allowing it to swing in. I see dark blue carpet, and a black wooden four-poster bed with navy sheets and comforter. On top of the bed is Quartz. In the far right corner of the room is a black desk with a matching chair. On the wall farthest from me, there is a large window overlooking the cityscape. I wonder what the city looks like from the 12th floor, or even the roof. The walls are dark gray, swallowing most of the light from the dull lamps. 

"Hey, I saw it happened. You okay?" Quartz asks as she sees me. 

I nod silently, wondering why I asked her to wait up for me. 

"Let's get you cleaned up, you'll sleep better without all that makeup on." She smirks gently, leading me toward the door at the back of the suite. 

It is far brighter in here. The white tile floors and walls reflect the bright light around the room. There is a large vanity with a mirror that runs from the floor all the way to the top of the vaulted ceiling. I wonder how much money was spent on this suite alone, never mind the other 23. There's a freaking crystal chandelier in the bathroom for crying out loud. There are people in the Districts that are wondering if they'll live till tomorrow, praying that they find something to eat this week. And here's the Capitol, spending as much money as they can to run this pageant. How many lives are worth a few days’ entertainment? 

"I know. It's so opulent, and unnecessary. This is why I'm here. You've seen what kind of power Snow wields. He's an iron claw in a velvet glove." She frowns, unzipping my dress for me. 

"Yes." I choke out, recalling the train conductor. 

Quartz starts the water in the shower as I pull the dress down my legs. 

"Warm or cold water or Nox?" She asks. 

"There's warm water?" I wonder aloud. 

The only showers we ever had were freezing, and we didn't go there unless we had no other choice. 

"Yeah, I'll make it warm for you." She giggles under her breath. 

I find myself scowling, why did I say that? Quartz leaves me to my thoughts, closing the door quietly behind her. I stand and stare at my reflection in the mirror. My pale skin almost glows in the misty room. As steam builds up, the makeup starts to drip and run down my face. It's surreal, watching the doll face in the mirror wipe away, revealing pale skin and pink lips. As the mirror fogs over, I get in the shower. The water is warm, I never knew warm water could feel so good. I wipe all the makeup off my face and body, returning me to my proper coloring. I watch the vibrant shades flow down the drain. There goes my team's masterpiece. I turn the water hotter, wanting to know what it feels like. As the fluid burns down my back, I brace my hands against the wall of the shower, the hot water bringing a near orgasmic pleasure to me. Wow, I like hot showers. I breathe in the heavy steam, letting my body soak up the humidity. After my body gets used to the hot water, I decide that I've been in here long enough. I shut the water off, wrap in a towel, and make my way to the plush carpet. I find Quartz laying a set of black polyester pajamas and cotton underwear on the bed. 

"Aw, you do love me." I tease as she finishes. 

She makes a surprised noise, jumping slightly upon hearing me. 

"Sorry, I just thought these would be comfortable for you." She weaves her fingers together nervously. 

I find myself smiling as she backs away. I dress quickly, not bothering to hide from Quartz, she's the one dressing me this whole time anyway. I wrap my hair in the towel and sit on the bed. 

"So, Lye tells me that you've got a little crush." She bats her eyes at me playfully. 

"Lye lies. He doesn't know me well enough to know when I do or don't like someone." I snap.

"Then why are you turning pink?" She asks, grinning widely. 

"Because the suggestion that I'm interested in anyone is ridiculous. What would someone like me want with a human?" I hiss, feeling my face burn. 

"To get laid, duh! You've been alone for six years; I don't blame you if you want to shag the first attractive person you come across." She laughs. 

"Ew!" I start laughing with her. 

We roll onto our sides as we laugh together. So, this is what having a friend is like. 

"So, who were they teasing about?" She asks as we calm down. 

"Cato." 

Quartz places a hand over her mouth in shock. 

"Oh… oh honey." Her face turns sad. "He's… not a good man. After the Games, he went a little nuts. He took to liquor, women, and street fighting. He used to show up to hospitals with black eyes, bloody knuckles, and the unconscious or dead body of whoever he fought." She pauses to watch my reaction. "That went on until like 2 months ago. Snow called him in, told him to straighten up and fly right, or it would be his life." 

I raise my eyebrows; he really went off the rails for a while there. 

"You should get your sleep; your training starts early tomorrow. Take care of yourself, Nox." Quartz hugs me gently, before retreating from the room. 

With her gone, the room feels quiet and empty. I glance around the dimly lit room, my eyes falling on the large window again. I decide to turn off the light. I see the cityscape in the darkness, every light in the Capitol flickering like large fireflies. As I watch more and more of them blink out, my mind wanders back to Cato. Is he telling his tributes about the train? He promised, but I don't know if his word carries weight. Should I trust him? Probably not. He's a spare mentor for District 2. Why do I turn pink every time someone teases me about him? It's not like I feel anything for him. He's hot, I'll give him that, he's generally smart, but that's all I know about him. I wander off to bed with thoughts of Cato Hadley whirling around in my mind.

I wake up early the next morning, a foul taste in my mouth. Must have slept with my mouth open. I tumble out of bed and onto the floor. I grumble to myself about my lack of grace and make my way to the kitchen. I sit on one of the bar stools and lay my face on the counter. After a few minutes, I go to push my torso up from the cool granite with an arm, effectively putting my hand on the butter. 

"Of course, why would I not stick my hand in the food?" I groan, walking across the island to wash my hand. 

"All lubed up and ready to go, I see. Wow, they teach you kids right in prison." Kiro cackles from down the hall. 

"Buzz off old man." I growl, retreating from the common area. 

I stomp my way back to my room, snarling under my breath. I jump in the shower, preparing myself for the day. I wash quickly, hoping to ensure time enough to eat breakfast. As I step out of the shower, my feet slip, forcing me to try and catch myself, failing miserably. Both of my feet fly out from under me, flinging me forward. I bash my head against the door, then start to fall backwards. I reach out to catch myself, only to have my arms slide out from under me. I lay on the ground for a moment before trying to get back up. The door burst open, allowing someone in. 

"Well well well, what do we have here?" I hear Kiro cackle. 

My system goes on high alert. This won't end well. 

"You're a clumsy little slut, aren't you?" He growls, closing the door behind him.

I scramble away, reaching for the towel. Kiro grabs the cloth from the rack, forcing me to hide or confront him. 

"You want this?" He asks. 

I don't do anything aside from glare, covering my body. 

"Come and get it." He grins. 

I don't move, if I don't move, maybe he'll lose interest and leave. 

"Come now, don't be shy. You have to earn your sponsors sometime." He closes in on me, throwing the towel over his shoulder. 

Not again. Not again. As he reaches out to touch me, I slap his hand away. He just laughs, as if this were his favorite game. He reaches out again, moving for a more intimate part of me this time. I kick out one of my legs instinctively, knocking him away from me. I'll lurch for the door, hoping to escape. Why do I even bother to hope these days? Kiro catches me by my foot, slamming my chin into the tile floor, crashing my teeth together. 

"You little whore…" He snarls, reeling me back toward him. 

My hands latch onto the doorway, fingernails digging into the wood. 

"Quartz!" I scream as we play tug-of-war with… me. 

"Do you think she actually cares what I do to you?" He laughs from behind me. 

"Quartz! Lye! Cato!" I shriek as my hands give way. 

My screaming makes him laugh harder. Is no one coming? I let out a piercing scream as I feel Kiro's hands climb my thighs. The bedroom door bursts open, allowing four people to come tumbling in. Quartz, Lye, Cantor, and Tee land in a pile in the doorway. They all scramble forward, wrenching me from Kiro's grasp. Lye and Cantor restrain Kiro, Tee runs out of the room, and Quartz wraps me in the towel from the floor. She picks me up bridal style, carrying me to the bed. As she tries to soothe me, I dissolve into tears. Why would he do that? I see Tecal appear from around the corner, his training uniform on. Quartz follows my eyes, noticing Tecal. 

"Thanks, Tecal. I hesitate to think what would have happened had you not heard her. Go on ahead, Nox will catch up later, after we've dealt with this." Quartz assures him, sending a murderous glare towards Kiro. 

I feel my body shaking as Quartz holds me close. What did I do to deserve this? But… even after I hurt him, Tecal was the one to hear me first. He spoke up when he could have left me to Kiro's mercy. Why did he speak? Quartz holds me close, shushing my tears, until a set of Peacekeepers show up. 

"Keep him away from here." She orders. 

They nod, taking Kiro by his upper arms, escorting him out of the apartment. 

"You have to get dressed now Nox, you need to train." Quartz encourages. 

I just shake my head vigorously. She sighs deeply, before pushing me away from her. 

"Yes. If you don't show up for training the others will view you as weak, target you, and then kill you." She continues. 

"So?" I frown, my voice cracking. 

"So, I want you to come back home. I'll take care of Kiro. He won't be allowed back here if it's the last thing I do." She assures me. 

At her words of comfort, I feel myself calming down. After a few more minutes of sniffling, I get up and get dressed for training. The snug nylon jumpsuit is a dark grey, with a large orange 8 embroidered on each side of the shoulders. I lace up the tall pair of black combat boots and pull my hair back in a sloppy ponytail. Quartz sees me to the elevator, whispering words of encouragement the whole way.

By the time I make it to the bottom floor of the training center, I've already missed an hour of the first group training. It appears that the customary career tributes have already formed their alliance, as usual. One, Two, and Four are all training together, having a grand old time. Were I to have things my way, I would be the only one in here. Granted, were I to have things my way, I'd still be in my prison cell back in District 8. The door closes loudly behind me, as if announcing my arrival by trumpet. The other tributes stop what they're doing and watch as the trainers swarm me. 

"Nice of you to join us 8." "About time!" "So, you don't care if you die?" "Have some nice beauty rest, did we?" They all clamor to reprimand me. 

"That's enough!" A particularly strong looking female trainer barks at the others. 

They all quiet down, leering at me, forcing me to stand in the middle of a circle of silent vultures. She leaves Nova, walking over to me with authority in her step. She's a black woman with high cheekbones, full lips, golden eyes, and a very short cropped black hair. She parts the other trainers, standing in front of me, one hand akimbo on her left hip. 

"You're late, explain." She orders. 

"Can we talk about that privately?" I ask. 

"Nope, this is as private as it gets." She scowls at me, starting to tap her foot. 

"Okay. I was a little busy trying to avoid being raped by my escort." I shrug, but feel my cheeks start to burn a little and my stomach clench. 

Her sharp gaze grazes over my body, assessing the likelihood of my story. 

"Aries, take over Nova, I'm going to work with Nox." She locks her eyes onto a large male trainer. 

He nods once, leading the others back to their tributes. 

"But you were training me Bellona!" Nova complains. 

“Not anymore." The trainer barks, hauling me away from the others to give me the lowdown on the rules. "Okay, the quick version, no fighting with the other tributes, you need to spar, use a trainer or a hologram. There are weapons, survival skills, endurance, agility, and strength stations. Remember, a blade does you no good if your body is too weak to wield it. Keep yourself fed, and away from disease and poison. Know your plants to keep your body strong enough to take your opponents down." 

I just stand there, waiting for more instructions. 

"What are you slacking for?!" She shouts in my face. 

I flinch visibly, then turn to see the stations. Bellona's right, without knowing what I can and cannot eat, I'll die in a couple of days no matter how strong I make my body here. I start off with the survival stations. I know absolutely nothing about plants and eating a mutt kind of feels like cannibalism to me. I work on memorizing edible plants before moving on to a long, agility center obstacle course. I'm much better at this. A chamber fires holographic arrows at me, I weave in and out of the attacks, each arrow flying by me. Next are the large swinging bags across a balance beam. I ignore the balance beam, opting to just leap from bag to bag instead. 

"Move it Nox, this is agility, not nap time." Bellona shouts at me. 

"Shut up." I grow back. 

"Make me." She sasses me. 

I roll my eyes as I jump from the last bag. I misjudge the distance by a foot, overshooting the platform. I land in a heap on the concrete floor, feeling my dignity get bruised more than my body. Bellona claps slowly as I get up. She seems less than impressed. I scurry up the cargo net, imagining that I'm a squirrel. When I reach the top, there is a thin balance beam. I cross it, reaching the uneven parallel bars. Now I'm a flying squirrel! At least in my head. I descend via the bars, landing me on a raised platform with ropes to swing from over a tank of water. Now I'm a swinging flying squirrel! I finally reached the last obstacle, I crawl under the low-slung barbed wire. I pop up at the end of the course, looking at Bellona. 

"You need to pick up the pace. Interesting use of the bags though, never seen that one." She crosses her arms. 

Right, next thing. I decide to start strength training, seeing as that is my worst trait, aside from endurance. 

"How much can you bench?" Bellona asks. 

"Bench?" I tip my head to one side. 

"Yeah, bench! How about squat weight?" 

"Squat weight?" 

"Okay… how about curls, deadlifts, lunges, or shot put?" She lists. 

"I don't know what any of those are." I admit. 

Bellona makes a growling noise, face palms, then shoves me down on a flat bench looking thing. 

"On your back." She orders me. 

I lean back until my spine hits the bench. She grabs a long bar with one arm, pulling it over to me. 

"Arms up tribute!" She shouts at me. 

I lift my arms and she plops the bar into my hands. I wasn't expecting this to be so heavy. My arms almost give way, lowering the bar dangerously close to my face before I push it back up. 

"Good, now do it again." Bellona orders me. 

"Do what again?" I ask, turning my head to look at her. 

"Lower the bar, then push it back up." She walked me through it, as if I were a toddler. 

Oh, I feel a little bit stupid. I lower and raise the bar a total of 5 times before she puts a few metal discs on the sides of the bar. When she nods, I go again. A few additions later, my arms feel weak, almost gelatinous. 

"Come on Nox, one more." Bellona chants. 

I push with all of my remaining might, but just can't push the bar up. Bellona steps in and takes the bar from me. 

"Okay, you bench 70, we gotta work on that." She notes as she pulls me up from the bench. 

She positions me on a mat in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror. She sets me up for what she calls squats, with the same heavy bar across the back of my shoulders. She does a few with me, correcting me on my form periodically. As time passes, she adds more weight. I tap out at 95 lb this time. Bellona seemed satisfied with my baseline tests, towing me to the rock wall at the strength station. She hooks me into everything, then steps back. 

"I'm going to time you, so move it or lose it Nox!" She shouts at me. 

I feel my heart pounding behind my ribs as I attempt to scramble up the wall. My arms and legs scream at me as I haul myself up the wall. 

"Much slower and my dead Grandma can beat you." Bellona shouts. "I'm going to chase you up this wall. If I catch you, you're dead." Bellona starts up the wall. 

I look down to see where she is, but in those few seconds, she reaches me. She grabs my ankle and throws me off the wall. The harness tugs at me as I inch back to the ground. 

"Dead!" Bellona shouts as she leaps town from the wall.

I return to the elevator after everyone else that night, having arrived late. My entire body is throbbing in concentrated waves, even after working in the field all day, I've never been this sore. I close my eyes and lean against the cold metal wall of the elevator. After pushing the button, the contraption begins to rise. I just wait for my floor, but the elevator stops prematurely. I open my eyes for a moment, only to be joined by Cato. I mentally groan as the door slides back closed behind him. 

"Wow, you look like hell. You okay?" He asks. 

"Define okay." I snap. 

"Point taken. I remember the stress of my Games." He sighs. 

"The Games don't scare me. Going back to my floor does." I growl, letting my pounding head rest against the cold metal wall again. 

"Why?" 

"Kiro is scum, we'll leave it at that." I snarl. 

"Kiro? Oh, I heard about that. Hera told me." Cato murmurs. 

"Great, now everyone knows that I'm just another one of the Capitol's hungry little whores." I hiss sarcastically. 

"That wasn't where I was going with that." Cato frowns. "I saw Quartz at lunch, she was talking to some of the other stylists about having Kiro removed from the floor." 

My eyes flash open at this. 

"Removed?" 

"Yeah, he's on lockdown until after the Games. You've been assigned a new Capitol representative as your escort. I don't know who though." He informs me. "Look, you seem stressed. On the roof, there's a pool, hot tub, and sauna. Maybe you should make use of them." He advises as the doors slide open to my floor. I pretty much tumble out of the elevator, leaving Cato alone in the contraption. 

"What did he want?" Tecal asks. 

I lift my eyes from the floor, seeing his questioning gaze. 

"No clue, kind of trying to avoid him actually." 

"Do we need to get Cato removed too?" 

"No, I can handle him." I smirk. 

He doesn't seem like he's a danger to me, merely curious. He let me know about the stuff on the roof, why would I do that? Does he just want to see me in a swimsuit? He won't like what he sees. My back is mostly skin, bones, and scar tissue. Between the Capitol's operations, the fires, the punishments, and the prison time, I doubt there is much unmarked skin left. I leave Tecal in the kitchen, desiring the company of silence. I plod down the hall to my room. I pause in the doorway, staring at the opening to the bathroom. I'll have to spend the next four months in the same place Kiro tried to rape me in. An ever-present reminder of what could have been. I scowl at it for a second more before closing the door behind me. I pull my shoes off, and flop on the bed, my body exhausted. I nearly slip away in sleep when a knock comes at my door. 

"Go away." I groan. 

The knock comes again, more urgent. 

"What!?" I shout at the door. 

"Our new escort is here." Tecal's voice grumbles through the door. 

I growl in the back of my throat, rising from the bed. I stomp over like a pouty child to the living room, I don't want to be here. A tall man with long black hair stands with his back to me. I feel a deep frown rest on my lips. 

"There you are Nox!" Quartz calls, but she doesn't sound right. 

Her voice is too high, her eyes are wider than normal. 

"The hell is wrong with you?" I ask her. 

The man turns to look at me. His cold grey eyes find me, apparently unimpressed with what he sees. His skin is pale, thick dark brows framing light eyes, near white lips offer no contrast to the rest of his face, sitting in a frown. He studies me for a moment, not bothering to say anything for a long while. 

"My name is Rush, I'm your new escort for the season." He holds out his hand to me. 

I stare at the hand, I'm unsure of what he wants. He lowers his outstretched appendage, a disappointed look on his face. 

"You must be Nox, judging by your social ineptitude." He frowns deeper, turning it into a scowl. "The president assigned me to District 8 for the rest of the season, and now I see why. The two of you lack discipline in your routine and have no source of strong leadership. I run a tight ship, and I don't like deviants." He sneers at me, slowing his words at the end. 

"Well that sucks. Don't expect me to fall in line just because you're Snow's goon." I hiss, crossing my arms. 

"I also like a challenge. It would be my pleasure to break you." He grins wickedly. 

So that's what Quartz is on edge about. I walk back down the hall without another word. I lock myself in my room for only a few minutes before I start to feel claustrophobic. Which would I prefer, Rush or Kiro? It's like asking me what my preferred method of torture is! I decide to take Cato up on his idea about the roof. I pull on a black one-piece swimsuit with an open back, 3 golden ties on each side and a halter keeping the garment up and on my body. I grab a towel and slip a set of sandals on, hoping to sneak out of the apartment. I breeze through the flat noiselessly, but everyone else is still in the living room. 

"Where do you think you're going?" Rush asks. 

"Up." I snap, making for the elevator. 

"No, you're not. I heard most of the mentors are up there. I don't want you giving away anything." He stands up, ordering me around like I'm a child. 

"So, stop me." I growl, pushing the button to go up. 

"You don't want me as an enemy." Rush warns as the elevator opens. 

"Likewise." I heave, letting the door close behind me.


	4. 4

I reach the roof after a few seconds, doors sliding open to let me out. Rush was mistaken, there are only seven people up here. I see Nova, Hathor, Cato, Vox, Hera, Sil, and Quota. I feel frown appear on my lips, so many people. All of them are in the hot tub, so I naturally avoid it, opting for the pool. I don't know how to swim very well, so I guess now is a good time to learn. I don't know what the arena will be like. I drop my towel at the side of the large pool, claiming one of the lounge chairs as my own. After pulling my sandals off, I use the stairs to enter the pool, feeling eyes on me. I try my best to ignore the feeling, letting the cold water wash over me. There were only a few places to swim in 8, but most of them are off-limits, outside the fences. And water doesn't naturally light on fire, so I had little interest in the ponds and rivers. I guess I should have forced myself to swim more often. Before long, it seems that I am forgotten, the group's loud chatter continuing on. 

"What's your plan Nova?" I hear Cato ask. 

"Kill everyone, go home." She snaps, "You of all people should know better than to ask about that." 

"Alright, I get it. You're afraid someone here is strong enough to take you out, beat you at your own game." He shoots back. 

"Ugh, as if. Why would I give anyone the upper hand, especially knowing how well you pick apart strategies." Nova laughs heartily. 

I peek over the edge of the pool only to see Nova looking at Hera. But she's not just looking, the way her eyes are moving over Hera is nearly predatory. But from what I've seen, Hera likes it. She blushes almost every time their eyes meet. Interesting. Hathor spots me watching them, and it rises from the water. Sil and Quota watch her intently. Their gazes are nothing short of sick. She winks at me once, heading for the sauna. I get her drift. I depart from the pool, climbing out of the chilly water and join her. I close the heavy door behind me, seeing Hathor, Kyle, and Nadine in the small steamy room. 

"Thanks for joining us Nox, we were hoping to talk to you." Hathor smiles, sitting on the empty bench. 

I remain standing by the door, eyebrows raised. 

"The three of us have formed an alliance, hoping to add you and one more to our group." 

"Who?" I inquire. 

"Victoria or Quinn." 

"And if you could have both?" 

"Then we'll take both. I have no doubt most of us would die individually, but together, we could be strong." She offers. 

I look at Nadine and Kyle, both of them looking confident in their alliance. 

"How long do I have to think about it?" I ask. 

"Till the end of the month, so six days." Nadine pipes up, her voice higher than I expected. 

"We know only one can come out of the arena, but we don't stand a chance against this pack of careers, especially with Nova at the helm." Kyle crosses his burly arms as he rests his back against the side of a sauna. 

"Why don't you recruit Tanner, he's her District partner." 

"He won't go against her, even if he's only giving information. Every time someone brings her up, he goes pale and starts shaking." Hathor sighs. 

"So, he's a professional coward." I muse. 

Hathor pats the bench next to her, inviting me to sit down. I take the open spot next to her, wondering why they would want me. 

"Gotta ask, why am I your pick?" I blurt out. 

"Honestly, it's your versatility that we want. You're smart, skilled, and quick, you're useful. You can either be a weapon or cannon fodder." 

"Well, I appreciate your candidness." I huff. "Who says we can trust each other?" 

"No one. We said we were in an alliance; trust has nothing to do with it." Nadine answers. 

"Point taken." I smirk, "Okay, I'm in. I suggest we stay scarce, stay away from each other during training, no need to attract too much attention." 

"Good idea, we can eat together, but don't be seen together by the other tributes. We play our cards right, one of us will make it out of the arena alive." Hathor adjourns the makeshift meeting. 

Kyle, Nadine, and Hathor file out, only to be replaced by Cato. 

"So, this is where the cool kids are hanging out these days." He smirks. 

I need to leave, but he stands in front of the door, closing it behind him. 

"Heard you got Rush." He starts. 

"And if we did?"

"Then get ready for hell for the next 4 months. He runs his tributes ragged, most of them don't make it out of day one. Take care Nox, Rush is not to be underestimated." Cato warns. 

"Neither am I." I growl, tipping my head to one side. 

"If anyone here knows that, it's me. Enobaria suspects that I know something about you that I'm not saying." 

"And?" 

"Just thin ice Nox. I'll keep my word until you're dead, or until I am, whichever comes first." 

"Why are you talking to me so much?" I hiss. 

"Do you want me to stop?" 

"Why would you care what I want?" 

"Do you want me to leave you alone?" He persists. 

"I never said that, just curious." I frown, wondering why those words came tumbling out of my mouth. 

"Don't misread me Nox, you're one of my top picks for this round of the Games, but Nova will shred you, given the chance. She's rather bitter about Bellona abandoning her in favor of you." 

"Oh, cuz that was my plan." I pout. 

"Doesn't matter, anytime someone mentions you around her, she gets more aggressive." 

Interesting. 

"What's going on between her and Hera?" I inquire. 

"They've got a thing going on, that's certain, but I can't honestly say what it is." 

"What about Sil and Quota? They seem pretty interested in Hathor." I push. 

"That I can gossip about, being a guy. They were having trouble hiding it as soon as she got up here. Word of advice don't let her be alone in the arena. I imagine being fucked to death isn't the way she wants to go." He frowns deeply. 

Yikes! I'll let her know. 

"Vox?" I ask, wanting to change the subject. 

"He's one of mine, but he's so young. Given a few more years I would have bet on him." 

"Oh dear, no faith in your own?" I purr. 

"Not with Nova out there." He frowns. 

We're silent for what feels like a long time, until I clear my throat. 

"Clarify something for me?" 

"Sure." He shrugs. 

"There are a few rumors floating around, at least with my prep team. One is about drink, second the track, and the third your siblings. Where did you get this month's portion of your winnings go?" 

"Oh… that. Well, it was a bit of all three. I drink to sleep at night, bet on the race for fun, and I just love my family." He blushes a little. 

"The women, was that what they were for too?" 

"What women?" 

"The ones that the rumors speak of, before Snow stepped in." 

"Yeah, a second body in the bed helps keep the nightmares away. If you win, you'll have to figure out what works for you." He chuckles humorlessly. 

Before I can stop myself, I blurt out, "If I win, can you be the first one I test that theory on?" 

Too late to take it back. I feel a blush burn across my cheeks faster than lightning strikes as he stares down at me. 

"I don't see why not." He finally stammers out after a tense silence. 

"Alright then... I should be going; Rush forbade me from coming up here in the first place." I squeeze past him to the door. 

"What are these from?" He touches the skin on my exposed back. 

I close my eyes for a fraction of a minute. I had hoped that I would be so dim he wouldn't notice them. 

"You've never been to 8's prison, have you?" I lower my tone. 

"No, but I heard what you said Tecal at the tribute parade." He matches my lowered tone. 

"You train Peacekeepers in 2, right?" 

"Yeah." 

"The ones at the prison are the ones who can't be assigned anywhere else because of their corruption. They help some inmates kill others, they rape, beat, burn, dismembered, or anything else they like. I was a common target but being in solitary kept me out of harm's way for the most part." 

"How many tried to kill you?" 

"Only a few when I was first moved to solitary, I still had enemies then. Most forgot I existed until I got moved to the same field as everyone else. Cotton won't harvest itself." I scoff. "Some are from other inmates, some from Peacekeepers. Others are from the Capitol's experiments on me." I feel my heart thunder behind my ribs, why can Cato get me to open up like this? 

I open the door and walk out to get my towel and sandals. I'm mostly dry by now. I drape the towel across my shoulders, going to make for the elevator. Everyone else is gone by now, leaving only Cato and me on the roof. He and I wait silently for the elevator, both of us mulling over our new information. As the door closes behind us, Cato clears his throat. 

"Why all the questions about the rumors?" 

"I can't very well form a real opinion of you if I don't have the facts." I shrug.

When the elevator makes it to my floor, I get out, not looking behind me. I cross the dark living room, making it to my bedroom without incident. Stripping out of the swimsuit, and stepping into a set of soft pajamas, I decide to settle in for the night. I sit up watching the lights of the city again. I got a lot of intel on some of my opponents, and I'm in an alliance now. Who knew that would have happened? I need to hit training hard tomorrow. Bellona will be happy to torture me, I'm sure of it. She seems to be on my side though, strange as that sounds. She's pushing me, but she knows how to make me stronger. She's trying to even. I wonder how many of her tributes have come out of there alive. The other trainers seem to fear or respect her. Maybe I could ask Cato about it when I see him next. When will I see him next? Why do I care? Why the hell did I ask him to sleep with me if I win?! I've never had trouble controlling my words before! What is this effect he has on me?


	5. 5

The next morning, I am rudely woken up by someone tearing the blankets off me. ice cream in voluntarily, the cool air kissing my skin. 

"Rise and shine, my little whore! It's 4 a.m., time to get moving." Rush's booming voice echoes through the room. 

"The hell it is!" I shout, ripping the blanket back from him. 

"Get up Nox, the other tributes could have killed you by now, no need for beauty sleep, it won't help you anyway." Rush laughs, pulling the blanket back again. 

I spring up from the bed, furious at him. 

"The sun isn't even up yet!" 

"Don't care. You slacked on your training yesterday, so we're getting an early start on it today." His grin is smug. 

He knows that no matter what he does to me, Snow will side with him. 

"You call avoiding rape slacking? You must live in a demented little world, especially for a demented little man like you." I tip my head to the side, daring him to continue. 

"Oh, the bitch thinks she has teeth. Poor little pup, hasn't even cut her gums." He baby talks back. 

"Wow, applause for the man of the cucumber his pants." I clap slowly, crawling back into the bed. 

I've slept without blankets before, this is no different. As I drop back to sleep, I feel someone to pull my ankle, tugging me out of the bed. I land on the floor with a growl. 

"This works too." I grumble, getting cozy. 

I close my eyes again, but not for long. A large bucket of ice water is tossed onto me, soaking me from head to toe. I spring up from the ground, barrel over to Rush, tackle him, and smash his head against the ground once. 

"Do it again, I dare you!" I shout. 

"Don't dare me to do anything, you'll regret it."

"Promises, promises." I huff. 

"Move it Nox, Bellona is waiting for you." He grins from the floor. 

"Whatever. It's not like I was going back to sleep anyway." I growl, stomping into the bathroom with a fresh training uniform. 

I lock the door behind me, not wanting a repeat of Kiro. I make a point of showering quickly, no need to give him time to plot something. By the time I return to my room, Rush is gone. I don't bother to eat anything, making for the elevator.

I arrive on the ground floor of the training center, only to find the gym is empty. The lights are on, but I don't see anyone. Certainly, no Bellona. I wander into the gym, seeing if my trainer is waiting for me somewhere else. The door clicks shut behind me loudly. 

"Bellona?" I shout, expecting her to answer. 

No one responds. "Hello?" I call. 

"Hey there, you're here early." A male voice meets my ears. 

I turn to see Sil the male from 11. 

"What do you think you're doing here, all alone?" Zelan, from 12 asks, approaching from behind a plant station. 

"I think she's lost guys." Quota from one materializes behind me. 

I feel my heart rate ramp up; this is just like the prison showers. I won't let it happen this time. 

"Oh, little prison girl looks scared." Sil laughs as they close in on me. 

Before the three of them close the circle, I sprint away to the agility course I used yesterday. I skip the first half, zipping up the cargo net. 

"Come on down, we just want to have a little fun." Quota laughs. 

They all run to the weapons rack, each grabbing something to throw at me. I just stand on the balance beam over the tank of water. This was not my best idea, but at least I'm away from them. Zelan throws a set of knives at me, missing by no short mark. Sil whips a javelin at me, which I dodge, but Quota looses an arrow, expecting my movement. The arrow lodges in the side of my calf, causing me to tumble into the water below. A shriek leaves my lips as I hit the water. I slowly swim over to the ladder on the side of the tank. 

"Come here baby, I'll take the arrow out, and put something much bigger." Quote laughs. 

"Yeah, let us help warm you up." Sil cackles evilly. 

I rip the arrow out of my leg, grunting deeply as I feel the blood trickle down. How do I get out of here? No one else is going to get here for another hour. Not good. I drop from the side of the tank in a soggy mess, oozing life as I rise. The three of them take this opportunity to cage me in. I stab at Zelan with the arrow in my hand, missing hopelessly. Sil takes the arrow from me, tossing it over his shoulder. 

"Get off me!" I shout, jerking and wriggling around as they try to restrain me. 

"Hold still and take it baby, it'll be better for you if you don't resist." Sil purrs in my ear. 

"Never." I'm bite at him, continuing to kick and squirm. 

"That's okay I like it when they writhe." Zelan grins, holding me still by my wrists. 

He pins me to the wall, allowing the shorter men to have their way. 

"Just relax, it'll all be over soon." Sil smirks as his hands slip under my shirt. 

I feel my brain start to fog with panic. This can't be happening again. I squirm harder, trying to escape. 

"You're cute when you struggle Nox, we'll have to do this again sometime." Quota cackles lowly. 

Someone starts to pull my pants down my hips, the other hands groping my breasts. I feel a tear squeeze out of one of my eyes. Not again. I continue to kick and thrash, to no avail. Quota digs his thumb into the arrow wound on my calf, making me scream from the pain. 

"That's it, scream for me." Quota purrs. 

He grinds his thumb into the bloody hole harder, causing black spots to pop up in my vision. I'm running out of energy. I feel someone's finger dip between my legs when a familiar voice meets my ears this time. 

"I'm not one to judge, but something tells me she's not into this." The hands stop, the air grows still, and the sharp pain in my leg fades. 

'What's it to you Cato?" Quota growls. 

"For starters, you all broke the rules of engagement here. That's a no-no. Second, consent is kind of a big deal, she is obviously not into any of you. Third, it's three on one, not exactly fair. Lastly she's been through enough here." He crosses his large arms. 

Why would he step in? 

"Let her go." Cato orders. 

"Why? You would have done it when you were a tribute. Not to mention, there's three of us, and one of you." Sil points out. 

"Do you really I want to play that game with me, kid?" Cato snarls. 

Sil and Quota back off, Zelan throwing me on the concrete floor. 

"She's trash anyway." He hisses, the three of them walking off behind a wall. 

Cato watches them for a while, making sure they don't come back. While his gaze is elsewhere, I pull my pants back up, saving a little dignity I have left. 

"You okay Nox?" He asks, squatting down beside me. 

"Would you be?" I whisper. 

He doesn't answer me with words, but he pulls me up by the shoulder. He slings one of my arms around his neck, letting me lean on him. He props me up against the wall, then retrieves the first aid kit from the wall next to the door. He wrapped my leg tightly to try to get the blood to stop. He helps me hop into the elevator, where he lets me lean on the wall. 

"What happened?" He asks softly. 

"What did it look like?!" I snap. 

"What happened?" He asks again patiently. 

"Rush woke me up, drenched me in a bucket of ice water and sent me down here. He told me that Bellona was waiting for me so we could start training early. When I got here, there was not one. Then they showed up. I got up on the balance beam over the water. Quota shot me, then I fell on the tank. Then you walked in on me about to get gangbanged." I feel myself calming down as I talk it through with him. "What were you doing there so early?" I inquire. 

"I get up to train. I want to be able to keep up with my tributes, and it gives me something to focus on after… not sleeping." He frowns. 

Only now do I notice his short sleeve gray tee is sticking to his back and abdomen with sweat. There's a pair of headphones around his neck, how did hear me? 

"You get up so you can work out? What kind of inhuman monster are you?" I hiss jokingly through gritted teeth as I test out my leg. 

"Is that really what you think of me?" He whimpers. 

I stop focusing on my wound to look at Cato. His eyes are trained on the ground, his lips set in a frown, and his shoulders slumped. Does that word really affect him so? It's what the other inmates called me all the time. 

"No. But what does it matter what I think of you? I'll be dead soon anyway." I grumble, placing a hand on his upper arm. 

He raises his to meet mine. 

"Yeah, it does. You're not dead yet, and I kind of like you. You don't take most people's crap. You don't look at me like I'm going to snap your neck if you breathe next to me wrong. You treat me like a person, not some animal." He blushes a little, fixing his eyes on the floor again. 

I just watch him until the door slides open. He helps take my weight again as he leads me down a long white hall. There are so many doors on each side. Cato stops in front of one labeled Oxylin 459 he knocks once before opening the door and helping me through the threshold. 

"Hey Cato, what's up?" A large balding man asks, looking up from a medical chart. 

"Observant fellow, isn't he?" I snarl as Cato lifts me onto a lightly padded gray vinyl covered table. 

"Nox? There's a surprise. I didn't expect to see you until after the Games." The man shrugs. 

"This is Ox. He worked on me after I came out of the arena. This team is the only one I trust." Cato introduces us. 

"Pleasure, but there's still a hole in my leg." I grunt. 

"I see that, looks like an arrow." Ox wanders over to me. "You been tusslin' with the other tributes already?" 

"Not trying to." I hiss as he examines my wound. 

He unwraps what Cato did, rolls my pant leg up, and frowns. 

"This arrow was poisoned." He concludes. 

"Poisoned?" Cato asks. 

"Yeah, it's a slow one. You wouldn't have felt the effect until the day before the Games. Whoever shot you doesn't want you to fight at full capacity, they're afraid." Ox analyzes. 

He turns his back on me, rummaging through his cabinets. 

"You make people nervous." Ox laughs. 

"Make people horny to apparently. First it was Kiro, now it's Zelan, Quota, and Sil." I groan.

"Eh, you're different, people either really like or really hate different. You're cute, so that helps." Ox shrugs again as he returns to me. 

"Oh, are you flirting with me doctor?" I scoff, sucking in a sharp breath as he sprays something in the open wound. 

"Nah, I'm a married man. Just candid." He laughs. "She's a funny one, you should keep her Cato." 

I look over to see a bright pink blush on Cato's cheeks. 

"We're not a thing. He just happened to step in before anything truly horrible could happen." I frown. 

"I'm going to go get Bellona, she should be in the training center by now." Cato mumbles, excusing himself. 

I watch closely as he leaves, why is he being so awkward? He's usually so confident, did I say something wrong? Only now do I really get to observe Ox as he mixes things in a test tube. He's a middle-aged man balding at the crown of his head. He used to have chocolate brown hair, but that is sparse now. He wears round glasses with thin wire rims. The lenses themselves are fairly thin, indicating he doesn't have much of a vision problem. I wonder if they're for aesthetic reasons. He is a broad man in both shoulder and stomach. But there's something about him that tells me I can trust him. His dark brown eyes are intelligent, you can tell in the way they sparkle. There's something going on behind his eyes, something far beyond what he's doing right now. 

"He's had a rough go these last few months. After he won, his father was sent to District 7 to put down food riots, his mother hit the bottle hard, and his little siblings started to be afraid of him. It's nice to see someone treated like a person again." Ox smiles widely. 

"You care about him, don't you?" I ask. 

"Since he became a Victor, I've been his physician. I've helped him heal physically and tried to help him mentally. He's like a son to me by now." He nods. "He likes you though." 

"How do you figure?" 

"He stepped in to help." 

"He doesn't do that for just anyone?"

"No. Now if he can avoid a fight, he will. He trains to take his mind off the nightmares. He drank to try to keep them from happening in the first place. He turned to women to try and forget what he has done. He was training for the games in two, before everything. But nothing prepares you for watching the light leave someone's eyes or seeing someone take their last breath because of you. You can never actually be ready to kill someone and then just forget about it." Ox explains. 

I don't say anything for what feels like a long time. Ox sprays a few chemicals in the hole in my leg, then wraps it in fresh gauze. 

"I put an antidote, the cellular accelerant, an antibiotic, a painkiller, and a scar nullifier." He informs. 

"Thank you. I have one more question for you." 

"Okay, shoot." He crosses his arms as he sits in his chair. 

"Why does Cato trust you and your team?" 

"An answer for another place." he responds, casting a glance at a camera in the corner of the room. 

I get his drift. Snow. 

"I hope to, one day, get that answer." I smile as the door opens. 

Bellona and Cato enter, Quartz on their tail. 

"Nox! What happened?" Quartz gasps as she sees me. 

"We should speak elsewhere." I hiss, glancing at the same camera Ox did. 

"Can we go to the 8th floor?" 

"Not if you want me there." Cato pipes up. 

"And I do, is there somewhere more private we can go to talk?" I wonder aloud. 

"Come with me." Bellona orders, and turns to walk away. 

"Have fun you kids, I have to stay put, keep me in the loop, won't you?" Ox waves as we all rise to follow Bellona. 

We walk past the elevator, through a set of large oak doors and into a dark hallway. We continue to follow her silently, until we reach the dark door at the very end. She knocks twice rapidly, twice slowly, the hits door hard with her elbow. The door opens from the inside, another of the trainers standing there. 

"Bellona, what are you doing?" he asks her. 

"Working with my tribute." She answers, pushing past him. 

"Azurite, close the door please." And Bellona's tone lightens dramatically. 

It's kind of shocking actually. The man, Azurite, closes the door, then joins us. 

"Sit." Bellona orders us, her tone returning to its sharp nature. 

We take a seat in large plush red chairs, all around a small koi pond in the floor. 

"Where are we?" I ask. 

"Trainer lounge." Azurite answers me, sitting next to Bellona. 

"Snow doesn't have any cameras here, only supporters. I am not one, but I train tributes, nothing more. If I speak out, people will just think I've gone mad with the guilt and loss of my tributes dying." She shrugs. "I'm easy to get rid of." She frowns. 

"You're taking on snow?" Azurite asks. 

"Apparently." I shrug. 

"I'm in." Azurite leans his elbows on his knees. 

"What happened?" Bellona asks, her eyes flicking between Cato and me. 

"Quota, Zelan, and Sil made a move, on Rush's tip I would wager. I intervened, but Quota stuck a poisoned arrow and Nox's leg. I took her to Ox to get the wound dressed." Cato informs the rest. 

"A poison arrow?! That is so against the rules!" Quartz shouts. "Can't we get the tape from the training hall?" She asks. 

"You're still pretty new, aren't you? It shows. He's District One, no one can touch him here. One is a Capitol favorite." Bellona shakes her head. "The tape has been erased by now." 

"So, what do we do?" I grimace. 

"Suspend your group training or have me escort you to and from training." Bellona suggests. 

"I won't handicap myself by stopping the group training. If you don't mind a little extra time talking arena strategy with me, I would like you to escort me. I don't want them to think they're affecting me. I won't look weak." I declare. 

"Now that your business is settled, what should we do?" Quartz refers to herself and Cato. 

"Be discreet. Cato especially. Avoid Nox, she's a tribute from 8, we don't want people thinking you're involved. Quartz, keep Nox's outfits neutral, except for the interview, and the masquerade to the night before the last day of training." Azurite instructs. 

"Masquerade?" I wonder aloud. 

"It's a non-televised event, giving the tributes one last night of fun." Cato informs. "All tributes, trainers, mentors, escorts, and Gamemakers are mandated to be there." 

"I can't dance." I frown. 

No one says anything for a moment. 

"Well, you're not really supposed to know about it until the night before." Bellona smirks. 

"So?" 

"So, I'll teach you." Cato offers, turning pink again. 

"You, teach me to dance?" I raise my eyebrows. 

"Why not? I can waltz, tango, swing, rumba, and foxtrot." His ears to turn redder by the second. 

"Well, this day just keeps getting stranger and stranger. What the hell, let's give it a shot." I shrug. 

"Alright, we'll take it easy on your leg this week, but will hit them hard next. We have to keep training, survival skills only today. Dance lessons in the evening, find somewhere private, reserve one of the sparring rooms if you have to. Most of them have speakers, so we can hook you up with some music." Bellona mandates. 

Cato nods, all of us rising from the chairs. 

"If ever I am unavailable, Azurite is a safe contact. Not all trainers are against Snow. Most of them aren't. Be careful who you mentioned this to. I prefer if no one hears about this meeting, even alliances." Bellona warns. 

"Noted." I nod. 

We all moved toward the door, filing out one at a time. I turned back to see Azurite whispering in Bellona's ear. She nods once and kisses him. I turn away, not wanting to intrude. I guess I never thought about anyone in the Capitol of the person before.


End file.
